To end Punjab’s growing drug problem, the fight must begin at its roots

Reputations are constructed after years of exhausting work, however nefarious designs by a number of can spoil them. Punjab is thought for its patriotic individuals, contributions to the nation’s meals safety and armed forces, and wealthy cultural legacy. However within the final decade, the state has been projected because the drug capital of India, and the individuals as addicts. There is no such thing as a denying that Punjab has a drug drawback, however it’s being blown out of proportion, and the geographical roots of the problem are being intentionally ignored. The way in which the problem has been portrayed on the silver display has additionally broken the state’s repute.

As per the Nationwide Crime Data Bureau, there are greater than 100 million drug customers in India, and the consumption charge of assorted narcotics substances has seen a 70% enhance within the final eight years. In 2021, the Nationwide Drug Dependence Therapy Centre recognized 272 districts with a excessive charge of drug abuse. It categorised states resembling Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with an elevated incidence of drug abuse amongst these above 40, whereas Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir and Nagaland have been categorised as states with numerous younger drug abusers (with ages under 20). Substance abuse, from costly and complicated medicine in cities to cough syrup in rural India, is a matter of concern. Drug abuse is a nationwide drawback, and we should discover options by addressing its root causes. The vilification of a specific state and its individuals could assist accrue petty political dividends however won’t clear up the issue.

Punjab shares a 550-km border with Pakistan, out of which 50 km is a riverine space, a most popular route for drug smuggling. The primary line of defence in these areas is the Border Safety Drive (BSF). BSF’s intensive monitoring, together with drones over rivers, canals and drains, can cut back such smuggling. Nonetheless, latest raids in a number of ports of the nation and the restoration of huge portions of medicine have established long-standing claims of Punjab Police that its neighbouring states are the brand new hotspots for smuggling unlawful substances into Punjab.

A test on the smuggling of medicine by the Golden Crescent — the clandestine land routes of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran — will likely be a sensible step to controlling medicine into the nation. Susceptible factors on the nation’s shoreline should be recognized and plugged to interrupt the provision chain of medicine into India.

With out sensitisation programmes, productive alternatives for participating younger individuals and the involvement of neighborhood leaders, we could not obtain desired outcomes. The initiatives of the Aam Aadmi Social gathering authorities in Punjab — regularisation of contractual jobs, new job alternatives for the younger (greater than 20,000 new jobs have been provided thus far), and growth of training and well being infrastructure with equitable entry to all sections of society — are optimistic interventions that would cease younger individuals from indulging in nefarious actions. The state police have been given a free hand to crack down on drug mafias.

However the state authorities wants assist from the Centre to stop cross-border drug terrorism and mobilise sources to additional speed up growth. Growth, job creation, and common sensitisation will wean the younger away from medicine. Just lately, a rally was organised in Sangrur as a part of a marketing campaign towards medicine, and this was appreciated as a step in the fitting course. Extra such rallies and consciousness programmes are wanted at common intervals.

One other key step could be to contain neighborhood leaders and influencers in anti-drug campaigns. Navchetna modules (designed to sensitise college college students and their dad and mom to drug dependence and associated points) launched within the Nationwide Convention on Drug Trafficking and Nationwide Safety needs to be carried out in letter and spirit in order that kids may be made conscious of their rights and methods to flee the drug web. The drug abuse drawback can solely be addressed by in depth cooperation, and alternate of knowledge and experience between the Centre and the states, and among the many states.

Harbhajan Singh is Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

The views expressed are private